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— - y - -zr — _ — : 

THE NKRD OF A HIGIIKR STANDARD OF EDUCATION 

• j /V 2 03 *N THE UNITED SrATI^:S. 

AN ADDRESS 

DELIVERED BEFORE THE 

PMIokalian and Pliilomathean Societies 



O F 



ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE 

BY 

/ 

GEO. WM. BROWN. 



B A L T I ]\I D R E : 
STEAM PRESS OF WILLIAM K. BOYLE, 

Corner of Baltimore and St. Panl Streets. 

1869. 



THE NEED OF A HIGHER STANDARD OF EDUCATION 
IN THE UNITED STATES. 



AN ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BEFOEE THE 



Pliilokaliaii aiul Pliilomatheaii Societies 



OF 



ST. JOH]Sr^S COLLEGE, 



BY 



^f^ GEO. WM. BROWN. 




B A L T 1 M K E : 
STEAM PEESS OF WILLIAM K. BOYLE, 

Corner of Baltimore aud St, Paul Streets. 

1869. 



Baltimorr, Auf/usi 3rd. 1869. 



Gentlemkn 



As your very kind notes ask for the same thing, that is a copy for 
publication of the Address which I had the honor of delivering recently before 
your Societies, one reply to both will, I hope, be considered appropriate. 

It gives me great pleasure to place the Address at your disposal, and I 
shall feel highly gratified if it shall prove of any service in the cause which 1 
have much at heart and in which St. John's College is a faithful and efficient 
laborer, that of a higher and better Education in the State of Maryland. 
With sincere wishes for the prosperity of both Societies, 
I am, very faithfully, 

Your Friend, 



GEO. W.Vl. BROWN. 



Messrs. 

L. A. WILMER, 
J. D. HAINES AND 
J. S. WIRT, 
WM. E. THOMPSON, 



Executive Committee of 
the Ptdlokalian Society. 



\ Executive Committee of 
J. GRATTAN IIAGNER anb \ 

I the Philomatliean Society. 
S. GARNER, J 



A D D Pv E S S 



Gentlf:men of the Philokaltan anj) Philomath ean 
Societies of St. John's College : 

It gave me great pleasure to accept the honor you 
conferred upon me in inviting me to address you- on this 
interesting anniversary, although the time allowed for 
preparation was so short as to make me feel apprehensive 
that I should not be able to do justice either to the occa- 
sion or myself. But in accepting the invitation, I did 
what, I certainly should not advise you to adopt as a 
general rule of conduct — that is, I took counsel of my 
feelings rather than of my judgment. I say of my feel- 
ings, because education has always been to me a subject 
of deep interest ; and it is no exaggeration to assert that 
to-day the cause of liberal education in Maryland is 
closely identified with the cause of St. John's College. 

Now what is education? The etymology of the word 
explains its meaning. In its largest sense it means the 
drawing out, or rather it indicates the more gentle process 
of leading out or developing all the faculties — intellec- 
tual, moral and physical — of the human being. It is 
undoubtedly true that very much of the best and most 
important education of every one, is derived from other 



f) 



sources than the direct instruction of professional teacliers ; 
and most fortunate is it for the human family that it is 
so. I A good mother is the best of all teachers, for her 
lessons begin earlier and their impressions last longer 
than all others. The family, the play-ground, society, 
business, pleasure, all our wants, our trials, our joys and 
sorrows, nature in all its aspects — the stern as well as the 
gentle, the terrific as well as the beautiful — and, above 
all, the constantly recurring necessity of labor for the 
supply of our wants and the support of existence, are 
daily and effective educators. And it is one of the most 
striking proofs of the beneficent plan on which the world 
is ordered, that so much is thus learned by those who 
have no other teachers. How often do we see sound 
judgment in the ordinary affairs of life, a nice sense of 
honor, the power of self-denial and self-sacrifice, and 
loyalty to truth and duty, in those who have received no 
educatiq,n from books, and can neither read nor write ! 
But while noble natures may thus learn much that is 
most valuable, they are compelled not only to remain in 
ignorance of many things that every one should know, 
but to continue always in a condition of intellectual child- 
hood. The glories of literature and the wonders of the 
universe are to them sealed books. The heavens, instead 
of being illimitable space studded with countless worlds, 
are only a blue arch, the sun a ball of fire, the moon a 
silver lamp, and the stars twinkling tapers set on high to 
illumine the night; while science, history, philosophy and 
poetry are names that, to their minds, do not even repre- 
sent ideas. 

And so I come to the proposition, which in this pres- 
ence I might have assumed as an indisputable truth, that 
in this age and country education, as the term is generally 



uiidei'stoocl — that is, direct iiistructiou by tlie means of 
books and living teachers, is of indispensable necessity to 
every human being. It has indeed become, or is fast 
becoming in all civilized countries, an accepted opinion 
that every child born into the world is entitled to receive 
from the State such an education as will fit it to perform 
at least the ordinary duties of life. And to be efficient it 
must begin early ; for, as the wise son of Sirach long ago 
wrote, " If thou hast gathered nothing in thy youth, how 
canst thou find any thing in thine age?" But although 
it should begin early, it should not end early, as we are 
told by the same eloquent moralist, who adds in another 
place, "My son, gather instruction from thy youth up: 
so shalt thou find wisdom till thy old age." 

It is unfortunately true, however, that this duty of the 
State to provide for the education of all her children was 
very tardily recognized in Maryland, and has never, I 
believe, been efficiently carried out except in the City of 
Baltimore. 

Let us see how the matter stands with regard to St. 
John's College. In the year 1704, that is one hundred 
and sixty-five years ago, was founded a "free school in 
Anne Arundel town, (now Annapolis,) upon the Severn 
river," known as "King William School," which after- 
W9,rds for seventy-one years seems to have done its unpre- 
tending work faithfully and with good success until it 
was merged in St. John's College ; of which it may there- 
fore be considered the precursor, if not the parent. The 
College had an auspicious commencement. In 1781: it 
received a liberal charter from the State, and in 1789 
commenced operations with the modest endowment of 
thirty-two thousand dollars, the voluntary contribution of 
many of the best and most distinguished citizens of the 



8 



State at tliat time: but its main reliance was upon the 
annual grant from the State of seventeen hundred and 
fifty pounds current money to be applied to the payment 
of salaries, which the State in the charter of the College 
solemnly guaranteed should be forever continued. It is 
not a pleasant incident in our history that in the year 
1806 the General Assembly violated this pledge, on the 
faith of which individuals had been induced to subscribe 
the sum I have mentioned, and not only withheld the 
annual stipend, but passed an act assuming formally to 
repeal and annul the contract stipulating for its payment 
and contained in the charter. These facts I have taken 
from the forcible and manly appeal to the people of Mary- 
land by the Visitors and Governors of St. John's College, 
made during the last year, and the same paper trul\' 
adds: ''Well did William Pinkney, who eloquently but 
vainly remonstrated against the passage of the act, predict 
that 'the day which witnessed the degradation of St. 
John's College,' in the very dawn of its promise, would 
prove 'the darkest day Maryland had known,' for by this 
act her citizens would be deprived at once of a college to 
which they could point with pride for what it had already 
done, and with liope for the greater good it might do in 
the future." 

For this great wrong, perpetrated more than fifty years 
ao-o — a wrong to her own honor as well as to the best and 
highest interests of the people — the State in later days 
has made tardy and partial amends ; and it is by virtue 
of this late repentance and its fruits that a reviving life 
has been imparted to this institution, and that we are here 
to-day to celebrate an annual com.men cement under fairer 
auspices tlian liave dawned since the disastrous era of 
1806. 



But what lias Lefii tlit coiis^iiueiice '.' Siin|»ly ilial 
fi-oiu tliat Jay to tliis tliert- lias been no college in Mary- 
land adapted to supply completely the wants of those who 
desired to receive a more liberal education than could be 
furnished by ordinary schools and academies. Noble and 
vigorous efforts have from time to time been made by 
various religious denominations to establish institutions of 
learning of a high character, but some have ceased to 
exist and none have been more than partially successful, 
and the great educational want to which I have alluded 
still remains unsupplied. 

Indeed, the only successful institution which has yet 
been established in Maryland for the cultivation of the 
higher branches of learning and science, as well as of art, 
is the "Institute," founded in Baltimore by the munifi- 
cence of that good and illustrious man, George Peabody. 
It is not a college; but it supplies much that no college 
can furnish. Already an admirably selected library, 
which has cost more than one hundred thousand dollars 
and is daily increasing, has been collected, and is accessi- 
ble to all readers without charge ; a conservatory of music, 
like those which are to be found in the great cities of 
Europe, has been commenced with the fairest prospect of 
success; annual courses of lectures on scientific and lite- 
rary subjects by the ablest men who can be procured, are 
open to the public at a price which is merely nominal, 
and a school of design will be established as soon as 
proper arrangements can be made. For these great 
undertakings one million of dollars has already been given, 
and I am not violating any confidence when I add that 
the same munificent donor designs in his lifetime to add 
further gifts, not only to the Institute, but to the other 
noble institutions which he has founded which may need 



10 



additional aid for their full developrneiit, and out ol' his 
vast fortune to reserve for himself what, for one situated 
as he is, is only a moderate competence. In a single life 
to have amassed a great fortune by industry, integrity 
and a comprehensive grasp and knowledge of commercial 
affairs, and then to spend it greatly in works of lasting 
munificence, wisely planned for the good of the human 
race, is to live two lives, in the best sense of the Latin 

poet : 

" Hoc est 

• Vivere bis, vita posse priori frui." 

And I cannot forbear to add that a great university 
hereafter to be established in Baltimore, has been planned 
by the wealthiest of her citizens, a native of this county, 
and at some future day we may confidently expect that it 
will be so liberally endowed out of liis large fortune as to 
enable it to take rank among the first and most useful 
universities in the land. But in the meantime the youth 
of Maryland are growing up with every year, and are 
asking for the daily bread of knowledge, which, so far as 
they are concerned, must be supplied now, or not at ail. 

I know of no institution so well adapted to satisfy this 
want as St. John's College. Annapolis, being not only 
the capital of the State, but the site of the Naval Academy, 
which is so munificently supported by the government of 
the United States, has become the resort of many of the 
most distinguished and cultivated persons in the State 
and in the nation. It is fortunate in having a climate 
mild, yet sufficiently bracing, and more than usually 
healthy. While it is near the great capitals on the 
Atlantic coast, it is removed from the temptations to idle- 
ness and dissipation which they unavoidably present, and 
it has a refined and polished society of its own. 



n 



The very fact that the college is beginning a new life 
gives it certain advantages, for, while it has an established 
position, it is not bound as closely as the institutions 
which have been longer organized, to the traditions of the 
past. In education, as in everything else, methods 
change with the growth of knowledge and the changing 
wants of mankind. I know that Dr. Samuel Johnson 
said, in his dogmatical way, that "education was as well 
understood by the ancients as ever it can be," but I am 
quite sure that even Aristotle, if he were living, or Dr. 
Johnson himself, would not feel competent to decide the 
various new and difficult questions which are now agitat- 
ing the minds of all who are interested in the subject. I 
say new, because, although many are old enough in them- 
selves, they have assumed new importance in view^ of the 
necessities of the times, and difficult, because they go to 
the very root of the system. Here are some of them: 
What are the branches proper to be taught in college, and 
how are they to be taught? Is there too much Greek 
and Latin ? I dare say some of you think there is ; but 
if there is, is a little of any value whatever? What 
place should modern languages occupy, and what the 
Anglo-Saxon? What the physical sciences and what the 
mathematics? Shall mental and moral philosophy, logic, 
history, political economy and belles-lettres form a part of 
the course? And as the list is too long for any class to 
master in four years, is the principle of elective studies to 
be introduced, and if so, who is to make the election? 
Will not the majority of students select the courses w^hich 
are the ^asiest and shortest? This was the experience of 
Professor Goldwin Smith, at Oxford, and probably it 
would not be very different at St. John's, although, after 
having tried it, he favors that system within certain 



12 



bounds. Then there is the perplexing and important 
question of religious training, of what kind it should be, 
and how far it should go. If a college is sectarian, it 
becomes almost necessarily narrow and one-sided; and if 
it is not sectarian, there is danger of its having no religion 
at all. The question of discipline is quite as difficult as 
the others. Shall the system of the German universities, 
where there is no control at all over the conduct of stu- 
dents, be adopted; or the military system, where the con- 
trol is rigid and constant, and yet is coupled with a sense 
of individual honor and responsibility, and can only be 
carried out with the co-operation of the students them- 
selves ; or the academical system, which is between the 
two, and has some of the advantages and disadvantages 
of both? Shall physical training be made a part of the 
course ; and if it is, shall it consist only of athletic sports 
and gymnastic exercises, or shall it include military drill, 
or, as in Cornell University, which is an experiment on a 
new plan, mechanical employment also? 

I mention these important questions without attempt- 
ing to solve them, and without even venturing to express 
an opinion with regard to any, for I doubt not they are 
occupying the thoughts of those who are engaged in 
shaping the future of this Institution, and who have a 
far larger experience and wider knowledge of the subject 
than any to which I can lay claim. 

But whatever may be the system adopted, there can 
be no doubt, I think, that it should have two principal 
aims, the one to bring together a competent corps of pro- 
fessors, some of whom, if possible, should be teachers in 
the largest sense, that is, should have the ability and the 
leisure too, to add something by their writings and dis- 
coveries to the world's stock of literature and science ; 



13 

while the second and chief should be to send forth every 
year into the community a body of upright, refined and 
highly cultivated young men, prepared to do their share 
of work in some one of the many avocations of life and 
in the larger sphere of society and the world. And this 
brings me to the subject which forms my principal theme. 
''The Need of a Higher Standard of Education in the 
United States." 

The general diffusion of intelligence and of the rudi- 
ments of learning in this country has attracted the atten- 
tion of all travellers. Undoubtedly better schools, better 
academies, better colleges and better universities are to 
be found elsewhere, and very great differences exist in 
the educational institutions in different parts of our own 
country, and consequently in the attainments of the 
inhabitants themselves ; but no one who has visited other 
parts of the world can fail to be struck with the general 
intelligence of the Americans as a people. Very much 
of this is owing, not to schools, but to our political insti- 
tutions. The feeling of political equality, the ballot-box 
and jury-box, the deep interest taken by all in public 
affairs, the discussions in public and debates in private on 
those affairs, the religious meetings and controversies, 
and philanthropic enterprises, the general diffusion of the 
necessaries and even the comforts of life, the abundance 
of books adapted to the popular taste, and more than all, 
the newspapers, constitute a means of elevating the 
masses such as no other country possesses or ever has 
possessed, and the fruit is abundantly shown in the 
character and bearing of the people, and in their superior 
refinement. 

It is not necessary to go abroad to be convinced of this, 
for any one who has compared the immigrants who flock 



14 



to our shores from u early every country of Europe with 
the corresponding classes in our own, and who has 
observed the great improvement which those immigrants 
soon exhibit after they have come under the influence 
which here surrounds them like an atmosphere, cannot 
fail to arrive at the same conclusion. 

But when we extend the view from the masses to the 
more highly cultivated classes, the comparison is not so 
favorable to ourselves. We then discover that there is 
something. peculiar and unsymmetrical in our civilization; 
that the base is broad, but that the superstructure is not 
high ; that we have erected a temple without a dome, a 
column without a capital, a spire without a pinnacle. 

Those who devote themselves to learning, literature 
and science, and not to some practical profession or 
business by which money is to be made, are very few 
indeed. The training even of those who take degrees at 
colleges and universities, is general and superficial rather 
than accurate and profound. It certainly was so in my 
day, as I remember with sorrow ; and although an 
improvement has taken place since then, the same defect, 
though in a less degree, prevails now, and exists likewise 
in the preparation of candidates for professional life. 
What a small store of knowledge does it require to become 
a licensed lawyer, or physician, or preacher; and who 
would venture to accept the ordinary college diploma, or 
a license to practice or preach, as a proof that its owner 
is possessed of any valuable knowledge or skill whatever? 
In these respects we differ from the leading countries of 
Europe, where, with a less enlightened people, are to be 
found a large class of learned and scientific men, and 
where the entrance into the professions is guarded with a 
more jealous care. 



15 



It may be tlionglit that scholars and learned men will 
appear in good time when^ they are needed, and I fully 
believe that they will come in time; but it would be well, 
if possible, to hasten their coming, for they are much 
needed now. The great want of the nation is of a large 
number of high-toned and highly cultivated men in every 
walk of life, in the pursuits of agriculture and business, 
literature and science, on the bench and at the bar, in the 
pulpit, the sick chamber and school-room, and especially 
in the higher departments of political life. 

It would occupy far more time than tiie occasion would 
justify, if I should attempt to exhibit this want in the 
extent to which I have stated that it exists, and I shall 
therefore confine my remarks to two departments — those 
of literature and politics. 

I have no disposition whatever to depreciate American 
literature, and with pleasure recognize the advances it has 
made in the last fifty years ; and yet the most enthusiastic 
American must acknowledge that, in comparison with our 
extraordinary growth in wealth, population and power, 
our prowess in war and our success in industrial pursuits, 
our achievements in literature have been small, and are 
so regarded by the rest of the world. Let us examine for 
a moment the ground on which perhaps we are strongest, — 
our newspapers. In parts of the country where there are 
writers of no other kind, there are at least writers for the 
newspapers, and it would be unfair not to admit that they 
often exhibit a great deal of talent. Much of our litera- 
ture is a close imitation of that of England, and, like all 
imitations, is inferior to the original, but the American 
newspaper is a hardy growth of our own soil. In its 
strong practical sense, its dry and often grotesque humor, 
its vigor of expression and breadth of view, it is pecu- 



16 



liarly American. And these newspapers, which in num- 
ber are like the leaves of the trees, which circulate every- 
where and form the chief intellectual food of the people, 
thus become their most efficient educators. This is not 
stating the case too strongly. They daily spread before 
the community the contemporaneous history of the world — 
certainly the most important and interesting part of history 
to us who are living and acting to-day — gathered with 
pains and expense from the four quarters of the globe, 
and presented in a condensed and intelligible form ; not 
always true, to be sure, but then, what history, ancient or 
modern, is so? And if it be false, the error of to-day 
will perhaps be corrected by the mail or telegram of to- 
morrow. Scraps of literature, science and art, of wit and 
humor, of religion, morality, politics, law and medicine, 
of everything, in short, in which their readers or any 
class of readers take an interest, appear from time to time 
in their ample columns. As vehicles of general informa- 
tion, the newspapers of the continent of Europe cannot be 
compared with them, and those of Great Britain are only 
beginning to rival them. 

But there are other qualities in which they are signally 
deficient. How coarse is their abuse of their opponents ; 
how deficient in taste and culture their style ; how abso- 
lute their bondage to party; how fierce are they when 
fighting under its banner, and how wanting in manly 
independence on other occasions ! There are, of course, 
honorable exceptions, but I am speaking of a general fact, 
not of exceptional cases. If we compare in these respects 
the daily newspaper press of New York, for instance, with 
that of London or Paris, the difference will be found to 
be very striking and not at all to the advantage of our 
own principal city. 



17 



The London Times, although far from being immacu- 
late in all particulars, gives to every cause a fair hearing. 
Its editorials are models of style and decorum, and some 
of them have been republished in the form of interesting 
and instructive volumes, while those of the Pall Mall 
Gazette and other daily journals are scarcely inferior, and 
the best of the Paris papers not only sparkle with wit, 
but are marked by high literary merit. 

In periodicals of a purely literary character, the week- 
lies, monthlies and quarterlies, the advantage will be found 
to be still more on the side of Europe. Indeed the best 
and most interesting periodicals we have, are those which 
are merely reprints of articles which have appeared in 
foreign journals. 

But as periodical literature necessarily occupies an 
inferior position, let us consider what place is accorded in 
the world to American works of a higher character. 

The question which the reverend and witty Sidney 
Smith scornfully asked, some fifty years ago, in the pages 
of the Edinburgh Review, which so offended our national 
pride, "Who reads an American book?" has since then 
been satisfactorily answered. Every one who reads the 
English language now reads American books. Uncle 
Tom's Cabin has been translated into many languages, 
and has been more universally read in Europe than any 
other modern work. In Great Britain Longfellow is with 
the mass of readers, not the select few, the most popular 
of living poets, and Poe, Irving, Prescott, Emerson, 
Motley, Hawthorne, and others are read and admired. 
Still it has been said, and must be admitted to be true, 
that no great original genius has yet appeared in the 
United States. We have had no Shakspeare nor Milton 
nor Byron nor Burns nor Tennyson, no Scott nor Thackeray 



18 



nor Dickens, no Bacon nor Locke nor Newton, anJ among 
all our clever and strong-minded women we have had no 
Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Great geniuses indeed are 
rare and special gifts of God, or, at least, their appear- 
ance is regulated by a law which we do not under- 
stand, for they will not come at our bidding, and cannot 
be created by any system of education or training what- 
ever ; but when sent they may perish from want of culture 
and nourishment, as the hardiest plants as well as the 
loveliest flowers require a congenial soil and climate, and 
may be scorched by the sunshine, or nipped by the frost, 
or starved on the barren rock. In order that we may 
have a nobler literature, and that our writers and thinkers, 
whether they be great geniuses or only gifted men, may 
occupy the same vantage-ground as those of the old world, 
with all the knovvdedge of the world within their reach, 
they should not only be highly educated scholars them- 
selves, but have the quickening association of kindred 
minds, which is the very life of progress; and for such 
we must look to the colleges and universities of the land. 
The chief glory of a people is their distinguished men, 
and especially their great writers and thinkers, and the 
more democratic institutions become, the more is this 
distinction felt and appreciated; for, in spite of our theory 
of political equality, we are so constituted that we delight 
to look up to something which we recognize as greater, 
better and wiser than ourselves ; and as in America the 
distinctions of rank and title are happily swept away, we 
can only gratify this natural instinct by paying a just 
homage to exalted merit. We sometimes, it is true, set 
up false idols, but it is because for a time our imagination 
invests them with noble qualities which they do not 



19 



possess; and while the delusion lasts, we pay an honest 
worship. 

It is often said that republics are ungrateful — and per- 
haps they are — but they are far less so than individuals, 
for there is a generous impulse in great masses of men, 
when they are not swayed by prejudice or passion, which 
delights in doing justice; and the American republic has 
not hitherto proved ungrateful to those who have done 
good service with either pen or sword. How highly 
literary merit is appreciated among us is seen in the 
political career of such men as Wirt, Paulding, Kennedy, 
Irving, Everett, Hawthorne, Bancroft, Marsh and Motley. 

In no other country of the world would great writers 
and thinkers be so cordially welcomed and so generously 
rewarded as in this, for no where else is thei"e such a 
nation of readers. Here there is no need nor room for 
patrons or patronage. If a true king of men, an inspired 
singer, with a genius like that of Dante, Shakspeare or 
Goethe, should appear among us, to interpret to us our 
life, as only a poet can, and to elevate our ideal to a 
height worthy of a great nation, his name would be on 
every lip, and his image and his words in every heart, 
from the granite hills of New England to the orange 
groves of Florida — from the verdant shores of the Chesa- 
peake to the golden placers of California. 

For great writers we can perhaps afford to wait, because 
we have received from England, with her noble language, 
a literature which, in richness, depth and power, has never 
been equalled in the world ; and the intellectual debt we 
owe to that country, instead of diminishing, is increasing 
from day to day. And although a condition of intel- 
lectual dependence of one nation upon another is neither 
honorable nor advantageous to the dependent party, it is 



20 



fortunate for us that we are not left entirely to our own 
resources. 

But can we aflford to wait for the influence of high- 
toned and educated men in the administration of public 
affairs? This is an important question; but before T 
devote a few minutes to its consideration, permit me to 
go back a good many years to an occasion like the 
present when I was a student at college. 

In the year 1830 — thirty-nine years ago — I was a 
member of the junior class of Eutgers College, and 
listened, with intense interest, to an address which a very 
eminent and eloquent gentleman of this State, Mr. Wil- 
liam Wirt, then delivered before the literary societies of 
that institution. It made a profound impression not only 
on the students, but on all who heard it, and I can say 
with gratitude, that it has had an influence for good on my 
whole life. Like the other writings of Mr. Wirt, it is 
characterized by a kindly feeling, especially towards the 
young, by a lofty patriotism, by high aspirations towards 
excellence, and by an earnest conviction of the power of 
human will and effort. 

After vividly depicting the dangers which then menaced 
the nation, growing out of political corruption, the conflict 
of local interests and the collisions between the Federal 
and State authorities, he said: 

"Thus, gentlemen, you perceive that your lot has been 
cast in stormy times, and every political indication warns 
you that the quality which above all others you should 
seek to cultivate is strength of character; strength of 
character as displayed in firmness of decision and vigor of 
action. 

"If, gentlemen, (he continued) you were about to 
embark in the voyage of life, on a summer's sea, in a 



21 



barge like that of Cleopatra, with zephyrs only to fan, 
and soft music and sweet perfumes to breathe around you, 
I might recommend it to you to give yourselves up 
entirely to the culture of those bland and gentle accom- 
plishments which contribute to cheer and sweeten social 
intercourse. But I foresee, distinctly, that you will have 
to double Cape Horn in the winter season, and to grapple 
with the gigantic spirit of the storm which guards that 
cape; and I foresee as distinctly that it will depend 
entirely on your own skill and energy whether you will 
survive the fearful encounter, and live to make a port in 
the mild latitudes of the Pacific." 

This startling prophesy, which rang in our ears thirty- 
nine years ago, has come true to the letter. The young 
men of that day, and of after days, who lived to take 
part in the great events of the last ten years, have, indeed, 
been compelled to double Cape Horn in the winter season 
and to grapple with the gigantic spirit of the storm which 
guards that cape; and while many — ah, how many — 
have perished in the fearful encounter, those who survive 
have not yet made a port in the mild latitudes of the 
Pacific. 

Gentlemen of St. John's College, after all that has been 
done and suffered since the solemn warning of Mr. Wirt 
was addressed to my fellow-students and myself, would 
words of similar import be appropriate from me to-day, or 
should I rather speak to you, as I would most gladly do, 
in the language only of encouragement and hope? No 
one can penetrate the secrets of the future, and, at most, 
we can only speculate doubtfully about coming events, 
aided by the lights of the past and of those, brighter and 
nearer, which are reflected from the horizon around us. 



22 



We must beware of expecting too much. Entire con- 
tentment cannot be experienced under any form of govern- 
ment, and would not be desirable even if it were possi- 
ble, because, as every system, however good, is neces- 
sarily imperfect, absolute contentment would destroy the 
desire of improvement, which is the strongest motive for 
exertion. Everywhere in Europe, so far as my knowledge 
and observation extend, there is dissatisfaction, and 
generally deep dissatisfaction, with the existing govern- 
ments, because everywhere there are deficiencies and 
evils, more or less acutely felt, which every individual 
complains of and seeks to have remedied. 

The historian Gibbon, after a wide survey of the gov- 
ernments of mankind, comes to the conclusion, which 
would be very sad if it were sound, that "if a man were 
called to Hx the period during which the condition of the 
human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, 
without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the 
death of Domitian lo the accession of Commodus," — 
about one hundred years — and he assigns as a reason for 
this opinion "that the vast extent of the Roman Empire 
was governed by absolute power, under the guidance of 
virtue and wisdom." But the happiness and prosperity, 
such as they were, which the Romans then experienced, 
were those of a degraded people who were unfit for the 
liberties they had lost, and, being the fruits of a season 
of quiet, enjoyed under the shelter of a benign though 
absolute despotism, they were liable at any moment to 
be destroyed, as in fact they were destro^^ed, by the 
advent to power of a stupid and ferocious tyrant. Not 
such, not such is the rule under which freemen would 
submit to live ! 



23 



I have dwelt on these considerations for the purpose of 
bringing before your minds the truth that difficulties and 
dangers are incidental to every government, and that we 
should be very unreasonable if we were to suppose that 
ours could be exempt from them ; especially now when 
we have just emerged from a civil war of vast magnitude, 
and have not escaped the demoralization and sectional 
animosity which such a contest always produces. 

Now what is the general condition of affairs at present, 
as compared with wdiat it was when Mr. Wirt warned his 
hearers of the troubles which were then impending? In 
one important respect at least it is better, and in others 
it must be admitted to be worse. I must be very brief 
here, and give you conclusions rather than the reasons on 
which they are founded. 

A perpetual source of sectional strife which then 
existed, has been removed forever. I refer to slavery. 
That institution separated the whole nation into two 
hostile and irreconcilable parties, and not only drew a line 
of demarcation deep and wide between the North and 
South, but divided the North itself into an over-bearing 
and victorious majority and an angry and defeated 
minority, and thus intensified everywhere the bitterness 
of party spirit, which has done more than anything else 
to degrade and corrupt our political institutions. In a 
country so vast as this, and with so many conflicting 
opinions and interests in the different parts, it is difficult 
to foresee that any one question can hereafter for a long 
time separate the people into two geographical parties, or 
into any two parties, so violently opposed to each other as 
those which have heretofore existed. 

If this be a correct view, as I think it is, certainly our 
political condition, in one very important particular, has 



24 



greatly improved; but in. other respects it 'has not im- 
proved. Tn the fierce scramble for place and office, 
which is forever going on, we have, I fear, almost ceased 
to believe in disinterested patriotism. Our public men 
have lost to a remarkable extent their hold on the public 
mind, no doubt because they deserved to lose it ; so that 
the people are now literally without leaders on whom 
they rely, and have come to care very little what any 
of their statesmen think or say. It was not so in the 
days of Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Clay, 
Calhoun and Webster, and it is a great misfortune that it 
is so now. 

Our elections, too, which were once our glory, are now 
our shame, for they have fallen more and more under the 
control of unprincipled combinations of politicians, who 
divide the offices among themselves and their friends, and 
thus corrupt and incompetent men are placed in power. 

If party spirit shall ever materially diminish, this evil 
will correct itself; for as soon as voters will refuse to 
support for office men known to be unworthy, although 
they are the nominees of their party, and rather than do 
so will vote for those on the opposite side, it Vvdll compel 
the nomination of suitable candidates by both parties. 
And the difficulty of the situation is increased by the fact 
that it seems destined very soon to become a settled prin- 
ciple that every man, without reference to race, education 
or property, is entitled to a vote. 

Now, what is the remedy? Clearly none but in the 
education of the whole people; and in applying the 
remedy, the primary school, the high school, the normal 
school, the college and the university must go hand-in- 
hand. Indeed, in the nature of things, there can be none 
other. Artificial checks and balances, on which theoreti- 



cal statesmen have been accustomed to rely S(; miicli, 
always break down when the strain comes. Tbey are 
breaking down in England and France now, notwithstand- 
ing monarchical institutions, an aristocracy, an established 
church, and a standing army. In this country they 
would be swept away like chaff before the whirlwind, 
because the people have the power, and will exercise it, 
and the only hope of safety, therefore, is in so educating 
them that they may exercise it wisely and well. 

Gentlemen, these matters address themselves espe- 
cially to you, because you will soon be taking your places 
on the broad stage of the world, and you cannot, if you 
would, evade the responsibility which will rest upon you. 
You will be very differently situated from many young 
men whom I have seen in Europe, whose great want was 
that of a ''career^' as it is called. Tliey had education, 
refinement, social position, but there seemed to be no 
place for them in life, and so they had become mere idlers, 
danglers of the saloon and ball-room, seekers after plea- 
sure or dilettanti. As the world was nothing to them, so 
they were nothing to the world, and their highest aspira- 
tion was for nothing loftier than a commission in the 
army or navy, a subordinate civil employment, or, still 
better, the prize of a rich wife ; but, as such prizes are 
not very numerous anywhere, many were doomed to 
disappointment. 

This is fortunately not your position, for every well 
educated American youth has a career marked out by 
Providence, and a noble one, if he chooses to pursue it 
properly. Life was never better worth living than it is 
in America now, for there never was an ampler field for 
manly, individual effort than there is in this country to- 
day. Whatever may be your calling, you should aim at 



26 



excellence, not to gratify the poor ambition of ontstrip- 
ing your contemporaries, but because you are bound to 
do the best with all the faculties, whether they be great 
or small, with which you are endowed. You need not 
be statesmen or politicians, but, as educated men, you will 
have political influence which, if you are true to your- 
selves and your country, you will exercise for good in the 
sphere in wdiich you may move. But let me warn you 
that you must not gather your garments about you as 
scholars have so often done, and some times do now, and 
exclaim with Horace, "Odi profanum vulgus et arceo." 
On the contrary, you should cultivate a large and 
generous sympathy with your fellow-men and with all 
their wants and interests, and adopt the nobler sentiment, 
of the dramatic poet, "Homo sum, humani nihil a me 
alienum puto." or still better, the sublime Christian pre- 
cept," Honor all men." You wdll find, so wide is the field 
of knowledge, that all you can ever know is very small, 
indeed, in comparison with that of which you are 
ignorant, and that the humblest person you may meet 
can giA'O you useful instruction in many things. 

The great experiment made in this country of the 
capacity of a people to govern themselves has not proved 
a failure ; for which let us thank God and take courage. 
We have not, indeed, escaped the horrors of civil war, 
but, sooner or later, the war was inevitable, for it arose 
from a conflict of irreconcilable interests and opinions 
which could be settled in no other way. It is time, 
therefore, that we should cease to dwell with bitterness 
on the irritating causes and incidents of the strife, and 
that we should make earnest efforts to derive all the 
benefits possible, from the results which have followed. 



27 



it is true that the experiment lias not yet been fully 
tried, and that many have lost faith, and almost hope, in 
the future ; but there are many more — and to that number 
I am more than glad to say that I belong — who think that 
they can discern through the dark clouds that environ us, 
a cheering light still shining beyond. The clouds are 
the pestilential exhalations of passion, prejudice, ignorance 
and vice ; but, now that the storm which has swept over 
the land has well nigh spent its fury, we may hope that 
they will gradually disperse and disappear, as storm- 
clouds always do, while the light — the blessed light of 
knowledge and virtue will certainly grow brighter and 
steadier, just in proportion to the faithfulness of the etForts 
made for the better education of the whole people. 



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